Michelle and Pamela from NY and IN, trip to Italy May-June 2007

Pamela and I had a terrific time in Italy and all of the hotels you secured for us were great! Each of them was in a terrific location and met our expectations. Given you hadn’t used several of these hotels before we put together a few thoughts/comments on each of them given our experience. We hope it will help you with future clients!

Thanks again for all of your help! Michelle

VENICE: Palazzo Salvadego: Great location, right off St. Mark’s Piazza. Small hotel. Modern, recently redone. Very nice sized room and clean. Continental breakfast (muffins and rolls) is provided at Hotel Monaco right on the Grand Canal. There is a great view of all the Gondolas lining up and taking passengers – fantastic scene to watch while eating breakfast.

CINQUE TERRE: La Sosta. Great bed and breakfast – only four rooms and great attention to the guests. Very spacious and clean room. Owners were extremely helpful on what do to in the area. Hotel is VERY, VERY, VERY difficult to find – guests should be sure to get directions from the hotel prior as it is hard to find once there. A car is almost a necessity as the hotel sits on top of the mountain between Levanto and Monterosso – taxi’s can take you to the cities for about 15 Euros each way.

FLORENCE: Palazzo Raspoli. We were bumped from our hotel our first night there and were put up at the Fenice in a really, really crappy room. It is supposedly a four star hotel but we were in a room on the lower level that was dirty, dark, small, etc. It was an extremely bad experience and our hotel was not able to do anything for us to compensate. Very disappointing. Once in our hotel room the experience was very positive. Staff was extremely helpful. Rooms are very spacious and clean, however the hotel as a whole, rooms included need a face lift. Linens, etc need to be cleaned, walls could use a paint job, etc. It looks worn. Very nice breakfast and breakfast room. Downfall: Hotel is right in front of the bus stop so it gets congested. Also not ideal for coming home in the evening as a key is required to get in the front door – a bit tricky of a door to open and then people are gathered right there for the bus.

ROME: Locanda Scenatorium. Great location and hotel. Very modern, and clean rooms. Room was the smallest one we had but manageable. All the other rooms seemed to be a bit more spacious than ours. No lift and a lot of stairs to take luggage up! The included breakfast is average at best – clients are given a voucher for a beverage and croissant at the local café and the quality is not so great.